next generation: year one
by neverlanding rapunzel
Summary: Albus has been eagerly awaiting this year many a night upon the discovery of Hogwarts' existence. However, with a posing threat to be unleashed, he begins to wonder whether being a Potter is all it's cracked up to be (My universe, written before 'Cursed Child')
1. i Train, Again

**i. Train, Again**

* * *

It had not been the first time that Albus Severus Potter had found himself on a train - after all, he and his father had gone into London many times in his short eleven years of life - but never had any of those cripplingly loud journey's aboard the infamous London Underground amounted to anything such as this.

He eagerly wheels his trunk to the best of his ability along the train's carriage, searching for a compartment that would fit both he, his cousin, and her best friend. Albus' brother, James, was of no help with this task. Despite him having taken this journey twice before, he makes no effort to help his little brother find somewhere to sit. Instead, he chooses to slink off to a compartment with his friends.

"I think this one's empty," says Albus' cousin, Rose. Sure enough, at the end of the carriage, there was just a single compartment alone that hadn't an occupant. Rose and her friend, Cat, step inside first, with no problem lifting their trunks above their heads and into the overhead rack. Albus has no such luck, struggling to shove the oversized luggage into the upper compartment.

"Let me help you with that," Albus hears an unfamiliar boy's voice say from behind him. Together, they lift the trunk and it finally slides into place. Al finds himself at a loss of what to say, a mixture of both exhaustion and a slight twinge of embarrassment washing over him.

"Al," Rose rolls her eyes at her younger cousin, "Don't be rude."  
The boy who helped snorts at her comment, to which she replies to with, "Scorpius Malfoy, I assume?"

"And you're Rose Weasley. Funny how we can only have just met and already somehow have some sort of first impression of each other," he says pointedly.

Albus finally regains his ability to breathe, still slightly amazed at how Rose and Cat could quite easily lift the trunks in the first place.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he speaks, "but I'm going to pretend to understand, okay?"

"Agreed." Cat smiles and nods at Rose, and the helpful boy, who is supposedly named /Scorpius/. He has roundish features, pale skin, and light blond hair, however clearly much dirtier than his father's, whom Albus had seen once before when Malfoy had come to deliver important news to Harry. Scorpius' eyebrows didn't match that of the hair on his head, being several shades too dark, and his eyes were the precise shape of Draco Malfoy's, though his were unmistakably olive over icy blue.

Albus' parents had always taught him to be polite, and so that was why he invited Scorpius Malfoy to sit with them on a mere whim. The young Malfoy boy doesn't share the old prejudice of his father and grandfather before him, and thus much obliges.

And so they were four, sitting in the compartment together in a seemingly impenetrable silence. That is, until Cat speaks up, drifting the conversation to the topic of their pets.

Albus has a tawny owl named Ares; he's big, and bold-looking, but highly unreliable. He had received the owl for his eleventh birthday in February, much to his surprise. Scorpius, despite his rich heritage, had chosen a simple snow-coloured cat, instead of the usual hawk-like bird that the Malfoy family had been know to give their sons.

Cat had, ironically, a mouse. She was named May, with big peached-toned ears and soft red eyes. On most animals, that feature would look terrifying, or disconcerting, but on May however, it was as cute as can be.

Rose hadn't a proper pet, though she had acquired a bright red Pygmy Puff as an early birthday present this past August from their Uncle George. Every year, George would allow each one of his nieces and nephews (and his own children) to pick one thing from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes that caught their heart's desire, and they would get it completely free of charge.

Due to their conversation, the four had not noticed that the train had left Platform Nine-And-Three-Quarters, and that they were now chugging speedily past meadows and valleys. A sudden tap on the door awoke them to this, the noise of which belonged to a kind elderly woman who was pushing a trolley full of Honeydukes' best sweets.

"Anything from the trolley, dears?" she asked in a tone that Scorpius recognised as strained kindness; he had seen it from his father many times.

"Yes, please. Thank you for offering, Madam-?" Scorpius asks for her name, which greatly shocked her. She shook her head, finally sporting a genuine grin. "None of this 'Madam' business - Madelaine would simply do."

"_Madelaine_." Scorpius had risen to his feet, willing to purchase for everyone. Despite both Rose and Al's protests against it, he gave her enough money for twenty of everything, more than really necessary. He spred the sweets across his vacated seat, and sat next to Rose opposite. Intending for his new found acquaintances to dig in, he let them run wild on the overabundance of food.

Cat bee-lined straight for the Chocolate Frogs, tossing the card aside for Al to catch and for her to get the chocolate. Albus groaned, seeing /Harry Potter/ printed neatly underneath a much more youthful-looking moving portrait of his dad.

_Harry James Potter, considered by many as 'The Boy Who Lived' and 'The Chosen One', is the only known survivor of the killing curse. Mister Potter is most particularly famous of his defeat of the mass-murdering dark wizard of modern times, Lord Voldemort, in 1998. He is currently head of Auror office, and lives in Chiswick with his wife, Ginevra Molly Weasley, and his three children; James Sirius, Albus Severus, and Lily Luna._

"He's a bit of a prat, to be honest," Albus says, and Cat snorts. Rose smiles at the comment.

There was an awkward silence hanging in the air once more, as Cat shuffled through the food eagerly and Rose was slowly peeling strips from a rather colourful Sour Wand.

"It must be difficult," Scorpius finally said to Albus, "being the son of such a legendary wizard."

Rose stopped stripping the Sour Wand, and Cat tried to discreetly swallow a large wad of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum. Albus was taken aback by the sentiment that Scorpius was trying to show, to sympathise with him.

"Kind of, I mean, he's just my dad, but to everybody else he's a war hero."

Scorpius Malfoy nods in understanding, possibly because of his grandfather's former association with the Death Eaters, or perhaps it was his father's large corporation. Al suddenly feels secure in talking to this boy, despite only meeting him today. Maybe it was unwise to confide in the son of his father's very own anti-hero, but that didn't stop him from saying what he said next.

"You know what happens when we go out together? My dad gets stopped. People ask for his autograph, they thank him for everything he's done. And I know I should be proud, I know I really should, but I just... can't help but think sometimes that my dad's heroism stops him from being completely..." he struggles to express the end of his sentence, and Rose and Cat are left in awe to ponder on this recent establishment that Scorpius Malfoy and Albus Potter were... friends?

In that instant, the compartment door slid open again, this time without permission. In poked a rather freckly, red-haired girl from the corridor. She grinned. "Jim said you'd be in here."

She eyed the sweets on the seat, and plonked herself next to Cat, who was turning very green at very rapid speed. The red-head looks in Scorpius' direction with the upmost surprise; she didn't realise they had other company.

"And who's this, cuz?" she asks, shortening 'cousin'. Al nor Rose reply, so Cat takes it upon herself between muted gags, "Dominique, this is Scorpius Malfoy."

The surname resonates with Dominique, recognising it from both recent history books and her Uncle Ron's rants alike. Sensing the danger here, Albus gives out a laugh. "Yeah. He helped me with my trunk and bought all these for us," he sweeps one hand across the compartment, gesturing the large amount of food shrouding them. Dominique shrugs off the wary looks given by Rose and Albus alike, and reaches for a packet of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. Accepting blind faith, she reaches in to pull out a bean, only to toss it straight into her mouth. She winces at the apparently horrible taste, as Rose and Al let out a sigh of relief in unison.

Dominique attempts to strike up conversation with the sickly Cat, turning the subject of interest to Houses. Dominique, having started two years previous, was a Hufflepuff. Scorpius Malfoy suddenly sparks an interest at those words, "You mean, you're not a Gryffindor? Aren't all Weasley's Gryffindors?"

She snorts. "The Sorting Hat doesn't sort by families, you know. It takes the things you value and sorts you accordingly. I, for one, value loyalty. My sister, though, she values imagination. Because of that, she was put into Ravenclaw."

Scorpius had never thought it a matter of value, he merely thought that it took your traits and placed you that way. However, upon considering this, it made sense: his father was one of the most intelligent wizards he knew, and yet, he wasn't placed in Ravenclaw. Knowing his father, he had probably valued the house of his father and grandfather before him, so he wished to carry on their legacy.

He is snapped from this realisation by Dominique cornering her cousins and demanding of them what house they would like to be in.

Rose quirks an eyebrow at Dominque's interest, but doesn't question it. She simply replies with a curt "Gryffindor" and allows for Al to respond, despite knowing full well how desperately he wanted to be in Gryffindor, too. So, it surprises her to great lengths when he says that he's not sure.

Albus senses Rose's gaze on him, and elaborates. "I know, I said I wanted to be Gryffindor, but, I don't know, I guess I wouldn't mind being in any of the houses."

Cat breaks temporarily from her ill haze, and reminds Albus of his hatred of Slytherins, before resuming clutching her stomach and trying not to throw up the sweets she consumed.

"Slytherins aren't all that bad," Scorpius interjects before Al can give his own thoughts on the matter, "Merlin was a Slytherin."

Albus nods, "Severus Snape was a Slytherin."  
"Wasn't he a Death Eater?" Rose inquires of them.

"He was a spy for Dumbledore," Scorpius corrected, feeling slightly hot.  
"_And_ Al's _named_ after him," Dominique reminds Rose, to which she can only shrug.

Dominique glances out the window, seeing that dusk had fallen and that the lamps had begun to be lit, she dismisses herself from the compartment and tells them that perhaps they should change into their robes. Rose slumps down where Dominque had been sitting beside Cat, who was now laying down with her eyes closed. The Weasley girl has to refrain from laughing at her best friend, who had overstuffed her stomach to no end every time there were sweets at hand.

She pushes slightly on Cat's exposed wrist, causing her to flash her eyes open. "We should go get changed."

Cat begrudgingly follows Rose out of the compartment, each clutching their folded robes. This leaves Albus and Scorpius alone together in silence.

"You know, I meant it when I said that my dads heroism stops him from being _there_ for me." Albus breaks the silence, continuing the conversation from before. Scorpius nods as he did then.

"My father, well, he's always working. You wouldn't think it, you know, because of what he does, but he's never home," he sighs.

Albus smiles unwillingly, and then corrects it to reflect sadness. It's a nice thought, to think that Scorpius trusted him as much as Al trusted Scorpius, despite them having just recently met. "What about your mum?"

"When I was younger, Mother would be home. She'd take me to school, pick me up, pack my lunches. It wasn't until a few years ago that she begun working again."

"You went to school?" Albus asks of Scorpius in surprise.  
"Yes. Father thought it would be nice if I grew up in a more _muggle_ environment," he smiled fondly at the memory, "He didn't want me to become like him, I s'pose."

"He can't be _that_ bad," Albus says, knowing that Draco Malfoy was one of the major supporters of the muggle rights movement.  
"He's not, he just thinks he is," replies Scorpius. "I think we should get dressed before the girls come back. It would be awkward to change in front of them."

Cat and Rose returned just as Albus was pulling his cloak over his arms, the sleeves of which his parents had purposely asked to be slightly too long so that he could grow into them. Cat looked much better after strolling the corridors, though still slightly green.

"We've been up to the driver, to ask him how long it'll be, and Cat definitely needed it," Rose informed them, "Apparently not long now."

With this, Albus replied, looking out the window, "Not long at all. Look! There's the station just up ahead!"

Indeed, moments later they heard the wheels screech on the railways and all movement came to a halt. The sound of students filled the corridors, and the four of them heard a cry of "Firs'-years! Don' be shy!"

They pushed past the many older students and tried to make their way off the train. Finally, with much persistence, their feet touched the brick of the station floor. Rose and Albus both grinned up at the sight of Hagrid's familiarity, and couldn't help but snicker slightly when Hagrid saw Scorpius standing next to Al.

"Draco Malfoy's son, eh?"

Scorpius nods, slightly fearing for his life due to Hagrid's vastness and altitude. The half-giant chortled at his shiftiness and commented on how much he looked like his father, and that Scorpius was the lucky one on that.

Hagrid rounded up the many first years and made a quick head-count to double-check that there weren't too many for the journey. That had happened before, eight years previous. Though, it should be noted that eight years ago had been the eleventh anniversary of the end of the Second Wizarding War.

Luckily, there were just the right amount of kids, and they took off down a steep, narrow path. There didn't appear to be any lights, aside from the great glowing lantern that Hagrid was holding. The darkness put many of the children on edge, fearing for their safety. Hagrid assured them that they'd get to see Hogwarts in a few moments, however, that didn't soothe those who didn't know Hagrid personally. Albus could see their point: Hagrid was large, and scary, with hands the size of dustbin lids and a beard that covered majority of his face. Albus knew, however, that Hagrid wouldn't hurt a fly and sympathised with even the most despicable of creatures.

They turned a corner, and there they stood at the foot of a dark lake with several boats tied down to the docks. Just beyond that, built on a mountain was Hogwarts Castle, bright against the inky black skyline. If Albus hadn't seen it in pictures in his father's study prior, he may have gasped, just as the others in his group had.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid gestured over to the small, rickety boats that were tied down. Rose, Scorpius, and Cat stepped into a boat, and Al was due to follow them, however he was cut off by an extremely short boy with a mop of curly hair and a wicked grin. He chose another boat bitterly, with only a single occupant: a girl with matted dirty blonde hair and her tie wrapped around her head. Albus gave the curly-haired boy a threatening glare before the boats took off on their own, following Hagrid and his lantern ahead.

It felt as if the boat ride were going to last forever, like he was going to spend the rest of eternity stuck on this boat with the strange girl who had now pulled a book from the small satchel by her side entitled 'Aesop's Fables'.

The first row of boats passed under the mouth of a cave inside the mountain, hidden by large amounts of ivy. The people in the boats, including Al, had to then duck to not hit their heads on the rock. Fable girl narrowly missed her head, lowering at the last second and then continuing to read. They continued through, almost like they were traveling underneath the entirety of the school. They passed three windows, each about fifty centimetres apart from one another. Inside, Al could see lounges of the fancy variety. He assumed that inside was a meeting place of some description deep within the school.

The boats pile into an underground harbour, made of slabs of light grey stone. Each student clambers their way out of the boats, several of them looking happy to be back on dry land. At the realisation that their journey was not yet over, the children groaned. Hagrid told them that they were not far away now, and trekked up a corridor after searching the boats. Albus reunited with Rose, Cat and Scorpius, feigning emotions of utter betrayal. The three laughed at his play acting and followed Hagrid upwards.

They finally reached damp, unnaturally green grass in the shadow of the castle. Excitement bubbled at the pit of Al's stomach, the closer they got to the large oak door just moments away from being knocked upon. Hagrid's knock vibrates through the wood, and silence falls upon the students in anticipation.


	2. ii Feast Festivities

**ii. Feast Festivities**

* * *

It was several moments later that the door was opened by a face familiar to Albus, Cat and Rose. With a roundish, bearded face, stood Neville Longbottom. He seemed quite antsy, and eagerly asked for forgiveness of Hagrid for his lateness.

"No problem, Neville," Hagrid shrugged off the apology with a large wave of hand. Neville gave a slight of smile, and pulled the door wide for the students to follow him. Once again, several gasps were let out by the group at the sight of the Entrance Hall. This time, Albus joined them in awe over the magnificence of the room. Flaming torches lit the walls, filling the room with light. He looked above, and saw that the ceiling, if there was one, was too high to be seen. Several metres in front of them, a marble staircase faced them. Albus felt a sudden tug in his chest, begging for him to explore the castle to no end. This feeling, he shut aside. Maybe some other time.

Neville guided them along the stone floor, past a large hall with four long tables that spread across its length. Mutterings could be heard from here, as the rest of the students had arrived by other means. However, Neville beckons them away from the hall's entrance instead into an empty chamber leading off of the main area. It was rather an uncomfortable place, cramped in such a way that they were standing in much too close proximity to each other. Albus was pressed very closely into Scorpius, who in turn was squished against Rose's left shoulder.

"We won't stay here long, don't you worry," Neville told the students, whom of which were looking extremely awkward. Neville took a deep breath, and spoke in a suddenly confident voice over them. "I am Professor Longbottom. Soon, we'll go into the Great Hall for the feast. But first, you must be sorted into your houses. I know there is a lot of stigma surrounding each house, but don't be deterred. Each house is as noble as one another, and don't you be letting other people tell you otherwise."

He takes a moment to breathe, letting his words settle with the first years. "The four houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Good behaviour will grant you points; bad behaviour will lose you points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points will be given the House-"

Neville is cut off by a rather tall boy with straw-like hair, who asks of him in a demanding tone, "What house were you in?"

Neville pauses for a moment, analysing the boy's features checking for some kind of recognition in them. "It's McLaggen, isn't it?"

The boy nods with pride, and Albus feels a slight revolt towards him. Neville doesn't say anything else on the topic of the boy's lineage, instead answering his question with a sigh. "I was in Gryffindor. Now, I am Head of House."

Neville checks the rather strange watch on his hand, very similar to the one Albus had seen his Uncle Ron wear on multiple occasions, with twelve hands and circulating planets. Professor Longbottom looks up at the students, and beckons them, finally, into the Great Hall.

It was almost as if Albus had stepped into a dream of spectacular design. Thousands of candles were lit above the four tables, suspended as if by invisible wires. Above those, the ceiling reflected the dark night outside. If Al hadn't know better, he would have thought that the constructors hadn't been bothered to complete the hall at all.

Albus felt an unpleasant sensation, as several people in the hall were staring at the back of his head. He should have known that was bound to happen, as he had been pointed out to look almost identical to his father at the same age, the only difference being his lack of glasses. He chose to ignore it, and instead focus on the hat sitting on a stool at the front of the line of first years. Scorpius behind him shifted uncomfortably at the sight of the frayed object, and Albus looked upon him with a twinge of worry. Clearly, the idea of the sorting bothered him even more than it bothered Al. Before Albus could comfort his newfound friend, the rip near the rim of the hat opened as if it were a mouth and began to sing:

_'Once upon a time,_

_On the land in which you stand,_

_Four founders came and built a fort,_

_Cheerful; hand-in-hand,_

_The founders were all clever,_

_Loyal, strong and smart,_

_Thinking that the day was never,_

_Would their their friendship break apart,_

_There was Ravenclaw,_

_Logical and kind,_

_Using words as a message,_

_Wise beyond her time,_

_Thou might be like Hufflepuff,_

_Loyal and never toils,_

_Better with friends then they are without,_

_Alone, they seek to recoil,_

_Perhaps thee is a Slytherin!_

_With cunning on your side,_

_Ambition is your greatest gift,_

_Though comes with the others' snide,_

_Finally, with Gryffindor,_

_Albus Dumbledore was so,_

_Brave and kind, and always forgiving,_

_No matter high or low,_

_Find out your gift, your talent, your fate,_

_At the hands of me,_

_As a thinking hat, you can trust,_

_Me to tell you what I see!'_

At the song's completion, the Hall burst into a fit of applause. The hat gave a small bow to each of the four houses, and then to the teachers, before returning to the unmoving state of before.

Neville stepped forward once more, now holding a scroll of parchment. He instructs them that they shall sit on the stool and put on the hat when their name is called. There are a few nods amongst the first years, though most of them looked as if they might throw up.

"Able, Louise!" The first name is called, and a dark-skinned girl the colour of black coffee stepped up. She anxiously puts the hat on her head and over her eyes, and a second later the hat shouts "GRYFFINDOR!" for the whole hall to hear. There was an applause from a sea of red and gold at one of the tables, and then silence fell once more.

"Adams, Kieran!" The second student is called, awkwardly fumbling up to the chair. Kieran Adams was a rather large boy, and looked very sickly pale. The anxiety that was evidently sweeping over him from being sorted obviously wasn't helping this matter. The hat sat on his head for an awfully long time before, finally, crying out "HUFFLEPUFF!"

The next person was an 'Aedian, Wren,' an olive-skinned girl with light blonde hair and a light dash of freckles, whom of which became the first Slytherin. Following that, two twin boys with identical faces, Declan and Edward Agler, became Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff respectively.

Auxley, Lukas followed them, trotting with a sly grin up to the hat. Albus was sure that, with that mischievous smile, that he was to be put into Slytherin. However, he proved to be just the opposite and was sorted in Gryffindor instead.

'Boot, Sierra' became a Ravenclaw, and Bronté, Kaiden was instated a Gryffindor. Following them, was the curly-haired boy, named Jeremy Chang-Dooley, whom had sat with Rose, Scorpius and Cat on the boat ride over. Albus glared at him through the hat as he was placed into Ravenclaw house, and proceeded to do so as he sat down at the blue and bronze table. Jeremy, feeling his gaze, turned to look at him, but at this point Albus had turned to see 'Cane, Christian' become a Slytherin.

It felt as if this were to drone on forever, as the hat took great amounts of time on 'Finch-Fletchley, Olivia,' before finally deciding on Hufflepuff. The next was someone Albus had met once before, Emily Finnigan-Thomas, when he was younger at one of his mother's gatherings, as her parents had been friends with his in their Hogwarts years.

Aurora Horton and Jasper Jones were made Hufflepuffs almost instantaneously as the hat touched the top of their heads. As the made their way down to the Hufflepuff table, the next name was called.

"Kindle, Alexandra!" Neville shouts over the Hufflepuff table's applause at their two new members. When they decline to step forward, Neville repeats the name again, this time posing as a question.

"Kindle, Alexandra?"

There was a sudden exclaim heard from somewhere behind Albus, and a small figure stalked up to the front, pushing past the other students. "That's me!"

It was the strange fable's girl that Albus had shared a boat with on the way to the castle, her hair looking even more matted then it had before. Albus spots one of the teachers looking her up and down, from her unfastened cloak to the tie around her head, and shakes their head disapprovingly. Alexandra doesn't appear to spot this, as she continues smiling and has the hat pulled over her head. Without a moment's hesitation, the hat shouts over the crowd "RAVENCLAW!" and she stumbles to the table in delight. Many of the students laugh at her, and applaud at an even more intensity then above all others.

Scorpius was the next to be called, and he fidgets behind Albus slightly before finally stepping up to the hat. Albus can hear many mutterings about the Great Hall, a few pointing fingers in Scorpius' direction. Neville scowls upon noticing this, and gives the school a single reprimanding look and silence falls once more, though the staring does not stop.

The hat falls over Scorpius' eyes as it did everyone elses. Many people await for the announcement that yet another Malfoy is in Slytherin, but it does not come. The hat remains silent over his eyes, and Albus can't help but wonder what could possibly be happening.

Just as everyone had grown bored of watching the motionless hat, it moved once more and exclaimed the impossible.

"RAVENCLAW!"

The mutterings start up again, louder then ever. When the hat is removed from Scorpius' head, Al sees that, despite him smiling, he is considerably paler than he had been prior. Albus offers his hand for a high five, and Scorpius gladly takes it before sitting next to Jeremy.

Yet another familiar face is asked up to the podium. McLaggen, the tall boy with straw hair from the chamber earlier, who had beamed with pride at the mention of his family name. Albus learns that McLaggen's first name is Chase, and that he was even worse then he had initially thought. Albus thought it had been simple big-headedness, but in actual fact it was that and _more_.

He swaggers up to the hat, searching the onlooker's faces for some kind of recognition, perhaps as Scorpius had received. No such luck, to his disappointment, and his smile shifted slightly before the hat falls over his eyes.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

McLaggen's smile returns at this pronouncement to the hall, and begins sauntering back to the Gryffindor table. What ruins the effect, however, is his obvious trip as he walks down the steps.

A girl by the name of Merideth Parkinson is next, and is sorted into Slytherin house. Albus assumed that her family had been that of a Slytherin-dominated one, judging by her proud stance before walking over to the alleged table.

Neville awaited this time for the applause to die down, and Albus guessed who was next. To his horror, he was right, and the name that he was now thinking had come much too soon.

"Potter, Albus!"

In that instant, all Albus could think about was the excruciatingly loud murmurings around the hall, filling his ears and making him feel weak in the knees. He takes a step forwards, and several people try to catch a good look at him. After an encouraging nod from James (the first encouraging thing he had done all day) he breathed and let the hat fall.

He waited several seconds, unsure of what was about to happen, when a sudden whisper in his ear could be heard. It startles him, as it felt like someone were speaking just millimetres away. It takes him a moment to figure out the situation, and let his shoulders relax.

"_Another_ Potter," the voice says, "Always the interesting sort. Always so brave, and loyal. With a natural thirst to prove you're worth more than just a silly title... It better be..." the hat trails off for a second, pondering. When he finally makes the decision, he shouts if for the whole hall to hear.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Several confused gasps could be heard, Many are disappointed, a few who know him showed obvious pity. After all, he had been solidly against Slytherin before the ride to Hogwarts: but it had given him time to think. Was Slytherin really all that bad?

He sat down next to Wren Aedian, and watched the remaining people be were only five people left, two of them being Cat and Rose.

"Rowdahl, Joanne!"

Joanne was a pale, red-headed girl with a long nose. The hat doesn't even manage to fall over her eyes before she finds herself sitting at the Hufflepuff table.

Next, is Rose. She bites her lip, but straightens her back and walks pompously up to the stool. It takes a moment's consideration, and she joins Scorpius at the Ravenclaw table a moment later, to large applause.

"Wood, Caterina!"

Cat attempted to hide away her greenish complexion, however Albus could still see the green tinge in her pale skin. Al knew that she hoped to be Gryffindor, like her parents, and he crossed his fingers under the table in hopes she would. If she wasn't in Gryffindor, Albus was sure that all of the consumed sweets from the train would be repurposed here in the form of puke.

Luckily for everyone, she was placed into Gryffindor. Now looking much less ill then before, she sits next to Albus' brother and he gives her an encouraging smile.

There were only two left after her: 'Yambersly, Cressida' and 'Zander, Jonathan' who both were placed in Slytherin. Jonathan sat in-between Albus and Wren, and Neville rolled the parchment back up and took the Sorting Hat and stool away.

At that, the Headmistress, Pomona Sprout, stood up to address the assembly of students. She looked from house table to house table, and took a deep breath of fresh air. "I would like to only say this: Welcome to Hogwarts! To our old students: welcome back! I would really like to get to the feast now, so I hope not to hold this all up, and so," she waved her arms in a motion across all four tables, "let us eat!"

With that, the feast began. Food appeared over the golden dinner plates, and it was only then that Albus realised how truly hungry he was. Albus had heard from his brother and uncle about how the first feast of the year was always the greatest, due to the amount of food, and Al was not unimpressed by the description. Every food was cooked just to perfection, like that of the monthly roasts 'Ma Weasley would prepare, and Albus could tell from the expression on Rose's face that she thought just the same.

It was then that Jonathan Zander began to strike up conversation with him. "What was up with all that whispering when you, and those two Ravenclaw kids were sorted?"

Zander was quite short and skinny, with dark hair that fell clearly over his eyes and past his ears, which looked as if there were sand all through it, or perhaps just really bad dandruff. Despite him being covered in much-too-large robes, he seemed to have freckles from head to toe, beginning from the bridge of his noise and trailing down his neck, almost like dragon pox.

He seemed nice enough. Al figured that perhaps Zander was muggle-born, and that was why he didn't know. Albus asked him this very politely, and he simply shrugged at that. Albus decided that perhaps it would be better if he didn't have any more inquiries.

"Well, you see, about twenty years ago, there was this war. It got really bad, I think. A tosser named Harry stopped the war, with his two friends-"  
Zander frowned at this description, "But what does that have to do with you three?"

"My dad's the tosser," Albus smirked, and then pointed his thumb in the direction of Rose, "And that girl's parents are the tosser's two friends."

Zander's mouth opened agape, and looked as though he was thinking about what to say. He sat like that for several seconds, before remembering Scorpius.

"What about the blond kid? Did his parent's help?"  
Al's face darkened slightly, not wanting to talk about the Malfoy's ex-Death Eater days, especially not when he had only recently become friends with Scorpius.

"Let's just say they were on the wrong side of the battle for a long time," Al muttered of Draco Malfoy finally, "But in the end, if it weren't for Scorpius' father, my dad wouldn't have been able to end the war."

There was silence between them, before Zander held out a hand intending for Albus to shake it. "You can call me Jono. Short for Jonathan, you know," he added the last part awkwardly, biting his lower lip and blowing up his cheeks. Albus took his hand and shook it, "Al. Short for Albus," Albus gave a wicked grin and added, "you know."

The desserts materialised on the table, and Albus dug in to a treacle tart. Wren Aedian from beside Jono peered around to get a good look at Albus. Wren was very much the opposite of Jono, with olive skin and light blonde hair. Though, she did have a light splash of freckles across her nose that looked almost cartoon like, as if she'd drawn them on herself.

"You're Albus _Potter_, right?" she asked, putting extreme emphasis on the surname. Seeing Albus' nod of confirmation through his chewing, she raised an eyebrow, perplexed. "But why are you Slytherin? Aren't all the Potters Gryffindors?"

Al shrugged off the comment, and made a fourth helping of tart. "Traditions can change, you know."

Wren paused, as if she was considering arguing. She seemed to decide against it, and returned to her own dessert of truffle.

In that instant, Professor Sprout rose to her feet again. She was plump and greying, with a face that looked distinctly like a cheerful garden gnome. It was evident that she had been out in the garden sometime recently, judging by the bits of dirt in her hair and on her robes, but she didn't seem to mind.

"Now that you have had food, I shall only interrupt one more time with a few notices. First of all; everyone should take note that the forbidden forest is out-of-bounds, for both students and staff alike," Albus notices that her gaze lingers on James for much longer than the other students.

"Also, be aware that this school year shall mark the twentieth anniversary of the infamous battle on these very grounds during the last Wizarding War known as the Battle of Hogwarts." She sighed deeply, as if she were thinking deeply in reflection. She snapped out of it finally when Neville behind her coughed to bring her attention. She regained her composure and spoke to the hall just one last thing.

"Now off you pop to bed!"

A Slytherin boy, several years older than Albus with long, auburn hair tied back into a knot at the back of his head and the beginning of a beard stood up and directed the other Slytherins to follow him and a short, curvy girl out of the hall and past the marble staircases downwards into the dungeons. Al assumed that the two were the Slytherin prefects of the year, and followed them justly.

The abundance of Slytherins - there were at least sixty crowded into the small corridor alone - stopped suddenly with the red-haired boy and the curvy girl. There was no where left to go, as they were faced with a grey stoned wall with no further passages leading off of it. The prefects turned to face the group, and the red-head grinned at the first years with a wild glaze in his eye.

"This is the entrance to the Slytherin common room," the girl said with precision, "everyday, you will have to stand here and recite the password, and the wall will open." She stopped to make sure everyone was paying attention to what she did next, before she spoke. "Agentum!"

With that, a door hidden in the wall slid open to allow the students to pass. The prefects entered first, and then the individual year groups in ascending order. Albus was one of the first to see that the main lounge was very large, though still with the stone walls of the dungeons. The lamps hanging on chains from the ceiling emitted a greenish light, that made the room appear much colder than it was, though in reality it was quite warm, due to the large fire crackling inside a carved mantelpiece of extraordinary design.

The two prefects stopped once more ahead of them, silhouetted against the bright flame. This time, the boy spoke cooly, introducing them.

"I'm Brody Carlyle, and this is Allison Moon. We're the sixth year prefects for Slytherin. If you need any help, just come to us and we'll help," he paused for a moment as the chatter began to arise from the silence, "though, you'd be better off asking me then Miss Uptight over here," he directs his thumb in the direction of Allison. She rolls her eyes, and moves his arm away from her.

"You'll find the boys' dormitories on the right, up that staircase there, and girls' dormitories on the left," she gestures towards the two arches next to each other with the same carvings as the fireplace. She continues, "This will be the same dorm for your next seven years at Hogwarts, and so you can decorate however you please. That is all."

They allow the students to their own devices, a few remaining behind to explore the common room. Albus, who was far too tired out of his mind to care less, immediately stalked up the staircase, checking the doors for his year level's dorm. When he reaches the third door, finally, that has a small plaque with 'first years' written under a silver knocker, he pushes inside with no haste. There are five four-poster beds with heavy green drapes over them, however there are not nearly enough boys to fill the room, as there are only three of them, the other two being Jono from earlier and a boy with dark blond hair named Christian Cane. The three pull their pajamas over them in silence, and then flop into their beds, falling immediately into a restful sleep.


	3. iii The Gamekeeper's Lunch

**iii. The Gamekeeper's Lunch**

* * *

In all the people that Albus knew that had been educated at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, not a single one of them had mentioned that the first day was such a jumble of sorting timetables and hunting down classes. It didn't help that, proceeding that first day on the first, was a weekend, and thus school started two days later on Monday the fourth, throwing classes behind schedule.

It was a hassle that morning to round up students to hand out timetables, a task that lead caretaker Argus Filch straight through the golden archway to crazytown. There were over three hundred students congregating in the halls awaiting meetings with their head of houses to send them on their way, and there was only one head per house, and thus the experience took great lengths of time.

The Slytherin head of house was one Professor Sheridan O'Reilly, whom of which was the Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher. Al wouldn't have thought her to be a Slytherin when he entered her office, and for a moment wondered if he was in the right room. She was a lovely-looking woman, with strong cheek bones and a contagious white smile.

"Name?" she asks, her attempted supressed Irish accent threatening to poke out at her words.  
"Albus Potter," Al's breath hitched.  
She smiled with a hint of humour, "Don't think you'll be receiving any special treatment from me, Mister Potter."

She handed him a piece of parchment with his classes printed in a table. Albus stood up and nodded at her comment with a sly grin, "I wouldn't dream of it."

He exits and informs the next person they can go in, and looks his timetable up and down. The schedule for Monday reads:

_ALBUS SEVERUS POTTER YEAR: I HOUSE: SLYTHERIN MONDAY:_  
_• Transfiguration with PROF. AURAGON • Charms with PROF. TROUGHTON • History of Magic with PROF. BINNS • Potions with PROF. PARKE • Defence Against The Dark Arts with PROF. O'REILLY_

Below that, is a space for the head of house signature. O'Reilly's signature is loopy and hardly legible, and from what Al could make out, somehow had the letter 'm' in it despite 'Sheridan' nor 'O'Reilly' containing that letter.

He proceeded up the cobbled staircase leading upwards towards the Entrance was a landing where the stone met the marble, and a further trek up marble steps to reach the Great Hall at last for breakfast. Al hit the sudden conclusion that, every morning for the following seven years, he would have to drag himself up this staircase in order to be fed. He mentally groaned at the thought, and continued the journey to his much needed food.

Rose and Scorpius already sat at the table of blue and bronze. Scorpius had a piece of parchment in his hands that he was reading, which Al was inclined to believe was his timetable. Rose was beside him, clearly making a physical effort not to shovel her porridge into her mouth.

The Malfoy boy looked up and made eye contact with Al, and gestured for him to move closer. In spite of his rumbling stomach, Albus did so. Whence he was close enough to the blond, Scorpius asked him what his first class was.

"Transfiguration," Albus informed him. Scorpius nodded, "Rose and I too. Well, that's convenient."  
"Mmmhmmm," was all Rose could muster through her mouthfuls of porridge. Albus motioned towards her.  
"Incase you hadn't figured it out, my dear cousin loves food."  
Rose scoffs through muffled tones, "You say that as if it's a bad thing. Food's a necessary human need, man."  
"Yeah, and it's gonna take me so much effort everyday just to live, with my common room being in the dungeons and all," Albus mentions with feigned coolness, however it is evident that he is whining.

Rose scrunches her face in an unflattering way in order to demean Albus. "Oh, boo-hoo! We have to go from Ravenclaw tower. You know how many stairs there are? I didn't count, but there was a lot."

Scorpius stiffles a laugh, hoping that his lack of humour towards Rose's mocking him would earn some kind of respect between he and his friend. To no avail, the laugh had been heard by the Potter boy.

"Wow, thanks so much for the sympathy," Albus responded, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Now, if you excuse me, I'm gonna go have some food. You know, because I spent so long trying to get here."

He stepped away from the pair, shooting them a last, purposefully menacing, look before heading towards the Slytherin table. Jonathan Zander was already sitting there, focused on his timetable with great concentration, as if he could remember it all on the first day. Albus sat besides the shorter boy, and took his first helping of scrambled eggs. Having watched Rose consume her porridge earlier was enough to put him off the idea of himself having that. He turned to Jonathan on his right, and rose an eyebrow at him.

"You know, you can carry and look at your timetable through the day, right?"  
Jono sighed, and folded his timetable to place it into the heavy-looking book bag slung to his side. He huffed, "I know, but... I just prefer to not have to look at the piece of paper all the time."

Albus shrugged, "Whatever you want."

There is a silence between the two as Albus prods at his eggs. They're laid out quite expertly on the plate, which Al couldn't help but think it a waste for something that was only going to be eaten. Albus was sure that the conversation between them had died for now, until Jono made a half-hearted comment about his breakfast.

"I've never been able to eat whatever I want. Where I live, you have to just take what you can and eat it quickly before the big kids take it off your plate."

"You got a lot of siblings?" Jono shrugged, and took a melty buttered crumpet off of the plate before him. Albus shrugged in turn and recalled that they'd both be in Transfiguration as their first class. Hearing this, Jono seemed pleased.

"Good, we can go up together," Jono said with positive confidence. Albus looked over at the Ravenclaw table, eyeing Scorpius and Rose, debating on whether they'd be fine with it. It was just as he reached the conclusion that it would be alright when he caught eye of his elder brother attempting, to put it lightly, flirt, with Alice Longbottom. Al's eyebrows shot so far up his head, he almost looked like he were lacking eyebrows. An idea struck his mind as if it a bolt of lightning.

He stood in his seat, and called out for Neville at the staff table. Professor Longbottom responded immediately, and begun striding towards the Potter boy. However, before he could even make his way to the aisle shared between the Slytherin and Gryffindor tables, Albus pronounced for all the hall to hear, "Professor! James wishes to give you his love!"

Jim Potter's eyes flashed crimson with clearly distinguished anger at the reference to their mother's wishes on the Platform prior to boarding the train. Several looks were exchanged between students, clearly debating on what Albus meant. Many of the scattered Weasley-Potter family member's looked clearly amused, and a swell of pride filled Albus, if only for a moment.

The concept of rising James' anger had seemed fun in the spur of the moment. In practice, Al now faintly feared for his life. Though Jim didn't look it, he was extremely quick, and could catch Albus' less speed-inclined limbs at the drop of a hat.

Scenting danger, Albus clung to the bookbag slung to his side and made it seem as though he were casually leaving. Jono looked up to see Albus moving towards to entrance hall, and rushed to keep up with him. "What was that about?"

Albus turned his head momentarily to glance behind him, and exhaled. "Oh, you know. Casual sibling rivalry."

"Right, okay," Jono pretended to understand the idea behind a rivalry of blood.

The sound of footsteps following them gave Albus a chill. He acted as if they were not there, hoping that by some logic that the childish 'I can't see you, so you can't see me' rule would apply in this case, however preposterous that would be.

"Yo, Al!" sounded a soprano voice that calmed Albus by a marginal amount, "You've got a death wish."

Albus turned around, and Rose and Scorpius stood before him. Rose, looking wildly amused with a grin plastered across her face, and Scorpius, looking highly perplexed.

"You know, watching you and your brother makes me happy that I don't have any siblings, to be honest," speaks Scorpius of the events that took place before.

"I'd rather not think about my death warrant. Let's just..." Albus looked from Rose, to Scorpius, to Jono. "Let's just go to Transfiguration. I wanna cram in at least one Hogwarts class before I die."

Any complaints of distance that Albus or Rose had before, were nothing compared to the rising self-pity that they surrounded themselves in now. The trek from the dungeons to the Great Hall were nothing when compared to any visit to their Transfiguration classroom. Once it was over, Rose, Scorpius, Al and Jono felt a great exhilaration upon stepping on the landing. A mass of blue and green students were lined outside a closed door, on it bearing a silver plaque.

_Prof. Idris L. Auragon. Transfiguration_

"Maybe we're early," Jono proposed.  
"Maybe she forgot," inquired Albus, also.  
"Maybe she saw us coming and quit," Scorpius suggested, in a similarly serious tone as Jono and Albus, though with clear mocking intention.  
Rose crooked her head in consideration of Scorpius' comment, "I know I would."

It was with that, the door vanished. In its place was a common garden rat, hoisting itself slightly onto hind legs with its snout fixated on sniffing something. From within the dark room behind the rat, stepped a willowy figure of a woman. She said nothing, only beckoned for the class to follow her. A few exchanged wary looks, but walked anyway. At the last student in line's step in the room, the rat transformed yet again into a door, leaving them in bewildering darkness.

Two seconds, counted exactly, passed by and the lights around the room flickered into life, illuminating the stone walls into brightened life. The willowy woman, completely visible now, stepped forward and told them to take their seats.

Without a moment's hesitation, the class each took a seat and allowed their full undivided attention to be focused on the woman. Albus couldn't determine whether or not she could be classed as pretty, her features were that of unusual ones. She had wide eyes, that appeared to stick out further from her head then her sockets, with extremely thin lips and a pixie-like nose.

She tapped a chalkboard, and cursive words began to write themselves into existence. They depict some of the rules that she expects to be abided by in her classroom, but she doesn't verbally elaborate. What she does say, is a warm welcome to her classroom.

"I am Professor Auragon, and I will be your Transfiguration teacher for the year, and hopefully beyond!" her voice is heavy with a distinctive London accent, one which was quite hard to miss. She taps her cropped black hair with her wand, and it instantly lengthens from the roots, growing at an alarmingly fast pace. The strands stop just above her waist, turning vibrant lilac at a second faint prod from her wand.

"Transfiguration is an art form. Not one that you hear about, but it can be quite useful, and not just for hair. One experienced at Transfiguration can change their appearance with their wand, or turn their old furniture into the new. All it takes is a little discipline, and focus, to achieve great results."

She taps the chalkboard yet again, and the rules vanish as quickly as they had initially appeared. Replacing them, come a series of complicated notes in the same cursive of before. Auragon suggests they copy the notes onto their own parchment, and so they do for the remainder of the lesson.

"Hey," Albus turns with a suggestion for Rose sitting on his right side, "We should visit Hagrid for lunch."  
She agrees, whispering a reply. In spite of their best efforts to stay practically silent, Auragon seems to hear and hushes the class. "Who's talking?"

A bored voice from the front row droned out, "The _Famous_ Duo."

Albus and Rose share similar expressions of bewilderment. Seeking the perpetrator of the only slightly offensive comment, Al's eyes land on the recognisable matted hair of the formerly-dubbed "fable girl" - now he knew her name to be that of Alexandra Kindle.

There was noticeable juxtaposition between the Alexandra of today and the cheery girl whom hadn't realised it was her name being called for the Sorting Hat.

"That," commented Scorpius, "wasn't necessary."  
"True that," hollered Jono, in a wild attempt to feel included.

Auragon sighed, and pinched the bridge of her nose."Whatever it is that's going on, please don't."

The class remained silent for the continuation of the introductory lesson, which ended with Auragon turning the board into a rather large pig, and then returning it to its previous properties.

Following that first lesson, the four of them had to split in two groups for their second class: Rose and Scorpius, being Ravenclaws, had Defence Against The Dark Arts, however, Slytherins Jono and Albus had Charms.

Charms wasn't anything notable. Instead of being a class that one would want to look forward to, it was simply a rather large, balding man by the name of Professor Bailey Troughton (whom looked so ancient it seemed one spell would knock him off) prattling on about the importance of the ability to charm objects to your command. The only person paying any attention to anything beyond Troughton's first two minutes of speech was fellow Slytherin, Christian Cane, who could be seen transfixing his hazel eyes and hanging onto the teacher's every word.

Al's third class for that first day was History of Magic, with the infamous Professor Binns. A shared lesson with the Gryffindor students, Cat Wood met Albus at the door. They shared a short greeting, and a vague introduction for Jono and Cat, before a voice could be heard from the classroom.

Professor Binns had the look of a man withered away to almost nothing, apart from the fact that he was a translucent grey. Albus knew of the tale of Binns' passing from life to death, and it was one of the least gruesome ghost stories to come out of a departed soul residing within Hogwarts. Having died of natural causes, Binns apparently hadn't initially realised that he had even passed in the first place, and had gotten up to teach his next class. Of course, this blissful ignorance didn't last for long, as one of his students instantly alerted him to his sudden transparency.

Still, despite having a ghost as a teacher, Albus couldn't help but feel his eyes droop. Binns had quite the soothing voice, and history wasn't the most entertaining subject in the world. He could've sworn that he had only intended to close his eyelids for a moment, but before he knew it he felt himself having the most lucid dream, involving the vicious mermaids he knew lived in the bottom of the Great Lake. Before he could truly experience this dream, however, he was dragged into reality by the feeling that he couldn't breathe. Indeed, when he opened his eyes he saw Rose standing over him, having held his nose until he woke. Beside her, was Scorpius, Cat, and Jono.

"We're going to see Hagrid," Rose reminded him of their earlier promise, which had felt like so long ago. Albus passed his fingers underneath his eyes, brushing away any sleep in his tear-duct's corner.

"Yeah, okay. But if he's making rock cakes, I'm going without."

The air outside the castle walls was a lot cooler than any of the five had anticipated. They stepped into the courtyard, instantly feeling the chill of the early autumnal months. It was because of this that they instantly sat beside the fireplace whence finally making it inside Hagrid's hut.

"A bi' cold, I'm guessin'," Hagrid comments with a hearty chuckle, "Yer know, yer didn't 'ave to come visit me, I woul' understan'."

Cat instantly beelines for Hagrid's kitchen cupboards in search for food, almost hoping that she wouldn't find any due to Hagrid's sympathy-worthy cooking skills.

"No, Hagrid, we wanted to come," Albus protested," besides, we've got some people we'd think you'd like to meet."

Jono turned his head away from the fire slightly, with a forced toothy smile with eyes that read 'help'. Scorpius is a tad more polite, giving a shy smile and making a small noise that Albus deciphered as being a "hi."

"By Merlin's beard, do yer look like yer dad," Hagrid says of Scorpius once again, just as he had on the platform," 'cept the eyes, yer eyes are far too green to be yer father's, an' yer hair looks a bit darker, but other than tha', yer look almost identical."

"My eyes are my mother's eyes, I believe you taught my mother as well? She was the year below Father in school-"  
Hagrid beams the only way Hagrid can - with crinkled eyes and a toothy grin, "Yeah, I remember yer mother. Astoria Greengrass, such a kind soul - always loved the animals I brough' in fer classes," he appeared to he reminiscent on the school years of Scorpius' mother, "Could never believe she was a Slytherin, although-" Hagrid glances in Albus' direction, "-not all Slytherins are bad."

Jono keeps his back to the scenario, hoping that if he avoided it all together then perhaps he wouldn't be asked to speak. No such luck, Hagrid draws attention to him not long after. "Speaking o' Slytherins, who might yer be?"

"Jonathan Zander," Albus begins by introducing his newfound friend. "Yeah, Hagrid, this is Jono. Jono, this is Hagrid. He's a family friend." Rose continues on for Albus.

"Hey, Hagrid?" Cat calls, her head now rummaging through what would have been intended to be a cutlery drawer, but instead was being used for [creature] food,"do you happen to have any people food?"

Hagrid shuffles slightly, almost uncomfortably, "I di'n't think that yer would be comin' so I di'n't prepare anything."

Rose scowled, for despite her frequently sarcastic attitude, she always had a certain soft-spot for the considerably elderly man, "Why wouldn't we come, Hagrid?"

"Well, I always thought there woul' come a time where yer no longer needed an old man like me," the bearded half-giant began of himself, "an' don't yer go sayin' tha' I'm not old!"

"But-" both Cat and Albus alike went to defend Hagrid from himself.

"Hagrid, we'll always visit you," Rose informed him, meaning it in entirety. Hagrid nods in consideration of the brunette Weasley girl's words.

"Yer should all be gettin' back up to the castle. Classes will be back in session soon, an' yer haven't even eaten yet!" Hagrid fusses over the five, motioning for them to leave. Despite Rose, Cat and Albus' protests (and Scorpius' mumbled weather complaints) Hagrid shoos them out with a wave of his dustbin lid sized hand, and they are forced to make their way back up in the direction of the castle. It isn't until they reach the external courtyard at the mouth of one of the castle's openings that Albus is hit with a certain revelation - something is different about Hagrid, and Albus was going to find out what.


	4. iv The First Warning

**iv. The First Warning**

* * *

Albus had been initially mystified as to why exactly the formerly un-threatening Alexandra Kindle suddenly hated everything to do with him. It didn't take him long to figure it out, though, and the answer happened to be that of Rose Weasley.

"She wouldn't put her stupid wand-light out for three nights in a row, so, being a _normal person_, after three days of losing sleeps I snapped," Rose explained of herself when cornered in the halls as she and Scorpius were leaving their own History Of Magic lesson, not at all apologetic of possibly being the cause of Alexandra's hatred of Albus. "She's lucky it wasn't her neck that snapped."

Scorpius looked at her with pure incredulity on his face, "Remind me to never get on _your_ bad side."

"That still doesn't explain why she hates _me_ aswell. I mean, what did I do?" Albus said, feeling only slightly attacked that Alexandra was taking her anger harboured at Rose and channeling it at _him_.

Rose rolled her eyes and cocked an eyebrow at this, "Oh no, someone doesn't like Albus Potter! Quick! Call the fire brigade!" she mocked. "Look, sometimes people just don't like you. Deal with it."

"No," he huffed, "I will not '_deal with it_'. Don't all of a sudden act like you're so _wise_."

"I'm older, so, I'm wiser," she readjusts her blue and bronze tie as if to emphasise that fact, "Respect your elders."

"Your logic is stupid." Albus deadpans on the subject. Rose shrugs off his attempt at an offensive retort, before heading with Scorpius to her Muggle Studies class.

Albus huffs at the lack of information he got from this confrontation, and checks his timetable for his final subject of the day: Potions.

The Potter boy had already decided that Potions was his favourite class, which wasn't to say his other classes weren't interesting, just that Potions seemed to be his strong suit, even with the rather grumpy Professor.

The Potions Master was one Professor Maxwell Parke, a young, bearded man whom, in Albus' minor amount of time at Hogwarts, had only worn muggle clothing plus a black cape-like robe over his shoulders. He seemed to give off the impression that he had a great distain for the subject, and yet, still, he taught exuberant amounts of information per lesson.

Albus seemed to be the only one appreciative of Parke, though. Many of the students were already showing signs of feeling over-worked, and had a gleam of panic in their eye whenever Parke so much as breathed. Even Scorpius and Rose, whom had both shown great skill in every other subject before, struggled immensely.

With all this decided anger harboured towards Parke, you would think that they had been studying Potions for a great length of time, however, this was only the second lesson.

Within the class, Al sat with Jasper Jones to his left, a Hufflepuff boy whose colouring couldn't seem to make up its mind, making him quite unsettling to look at. The boy was deeply tanned, with deep brown abyss-like eyes, dirty blond hair and a constant broad grin that exposed his teeth quite magnificently.

To Albus' right, was Jono. So far, Albus noticed that Jonathan hadn't demonstrated any kind of favourable talent within the wizarding community, but in spite of this, Albus tried to encourage him to keep trying. The Potter boy made a mental note to take Jono to meet Neville Longbottom more personally, as Neville was infamous in school for being, to put it lightly, 'a bumbling idiot', but despite this preceding reputation of his, Neville was also partly responsibly for Lord Voldemort's returned mortality.

Luckily for Jono, Parke wasn't quite as brutal as Severus Snape had been known to be towards some of the less inclined students.

It was with this hushed thought at the back of Albus' mind that there was a sudden, echoing scream. It vibrated around the room due to the dungeon's enhanced acoustics. Parke suddenly bursts into action, his care-free attitude cast aside. "You're all excused."

Each of the combined Hufflepuff and Slytherin first-years are bewildered as to who it was that screamed. Parke is the first to vacate the room, shrugging off the students with a "Please return to your common rooms."

No one listens, instead rushing up the stairs behind the Potions Master in search of who it was that screamed. At the top of the staircase, Albus' class combines with Scorpius and Rose's class. "Who screamed?" Al asks of them, in hopes they would know.  
"So, you're speaking to me again?" Rose lifts her right eyebrow at Albus' sudden coolness.  
Scorpius hisses over their quarrel, "Now is /not/ the time."

A sea of black robes rush through the hallways, all are both simultaneously curious and frightened. It is on the third floor that what looks to be every student in the school congregates, the whole school in a circle around the pasty white body of a curvy girl. Albus knows he has seen her before, but he can't quite put his finger on who she is or where he's seen her from.

In that moment, the crowd parts, allowing the passing through of Professor Sprout. By her side, is an also familiar student, this one is a boy—more of a man—with flowing auburn hair and a beard to match.

Jono to Al's right nudges him, as the shorter boy has recognised the two students too. However, unlike Albus, Jono is able to identify him.

"Al—look, it's—"

He isn't able to share what he knows, as the information he was about to give is supplied by the red-haired boy's loud whimper.

"Alli?" the boy spits out in disbelief, "Allison?"  
Sprout attempts to soothe him, "Mister Carlyle—Brody—it's alright—"

Her attempts are to no avail. Brody collapses to the ground beside Allison, and Albus catches the glint of the pair's badges, badges Albus is sure that, if he were to look closer, would have the Slytherin emblem on them.

"The Slytherin Prefects..." Albus manages to breathe out. Whether in shock or disbelief, he isn't too sure. After all, Albus, and all the other Slytherins, had seen her just the other day, presenting the first years with the rules. She and Brody had seemed so happy, and overly-playful then, and here Albus sees the pair, the girl of the two seemingly passed out on the cold floor, and the male crying over it.

Professor Sprout brushes away a tear that threatens to leave her eye, turning to each of the students. With a final gasp of courage to speak, Sprout pronounced a message for all the hear.

"Everyone, return to your dormitories, with the exclusion of Mister Carlyle. Do not make any detours; do not wander the halls. Mark my words, whoever did this will be punished, severely!"

Brody whimpers once again, this time with less audio.

"Scary stuff," speaks Christian Cane of the incident when Jono and Albus enter the first-year boy's dorm. The two extra beds that had been there earlier had since been removed, to have been replaced with a dark green sofa instead.

"Yeah," agrees Jono, "It's..."  
"...strange," Albus interjects into the conversation, "Don't you think it's strange that someone just randomly screams, then passes out?"

Cane groans, "Oh my god, I've been roomed with '_Harry Potter, 2.0. With new and improved eyesight_'." The last comment nodding to Albus' lack of glasses as compared to his father is spoken, almost mockingly, in what seems to be an American television show host's voice.

"—very funny," Al deadpans, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "I'm just curious."  
"Oh, dear lord," Cane mutters under his breath, but not quiet enough for Albus not to hear—perhaps this is intentional—and then proceeds to slump, face first, into his pillow.

Jono shrugs, which seems to be a commodity for the shorter dark-haired boy. "Well, it's strange. Guess we'll find out what's going on later. Until then, I'm going to sleep. Wake me up when it's dinner." He passes his body underneath the sheets.

"Yeah, sure," breathes Albus. He leaves his two roommates alone, Cane still breathing in the bedsheets and Jono, somehow, already asleep. He makes way for the common room, where sits only a few students: the two remaining Slytherin Prefects—the ones that were in fifth year; a group of four boys playing Wizard's Chess, and a blonde girl curled up to a book. Al wonders if he'd be able to sneak past without detection, but just as the thought manages to cross his mind, the blonde girl stands, and shoots almost like a bullet to stop Albus.

"It's Potter, isn't it?" she's obviously Scottish, "You better not be thinking of sneaking out."

Albus frowns at the insinuation despite it's truth, "What? I mean... I wasn't... I'd never... what?" the young Potter's voice raises even higher than its usual pitch, proving his lie. No one in the common room seems to notice.

"Potter, you're an awful liar," the girl informs Albus of something that he already knew, "I'm Sylvia Michaels."

Albus expects her to hold out a hand for him to shake, or perhaps for her to even continue the conversation further. What she does, instead, is push past him to reach the staircase to the girls' dormitory.

The clock chimes five-thirty pm, making the students aware that it was time for them to be heading down to dinner. Many of the lower year students don't hesitate to rush down due to their hunger, but many of the older students, particularly the sixth years that knew—still did know?— Allison best were in too much shock to emerge from their dorms. Al waits several moments to double-check to see if Jono and Cane do emerge from their dormitory. When they do, Jono extremely disgruntled by this, Albus waits for the shorter boy to keep up with him, and then they both leave for the Great Hall together.

Unlike the first day, dinner was nor nearly as extravagant. However, that wasn't to say it wasn't good, or that it was in any way lesser. The food tasted good as always—though it couldn't be enjoyed due to everyone's anxiety as to Allison Moon's state of wellbeing.

It was only half way through the silent meal that Sprout noticed this, despite the expectation that this would be obvious. The headmistress stood at her podium, the entire hall awaiting her words.

"The sixth-year Slytherin Prefect named Allison Moon that had been apparently harmed earlier this evening is currently being tended to by Madam Pomfrey. I urge all of you not to make a spectacle of her—she's been through enough of an ordeal without people treating her like, to put it lightly, a '/freak/'." Sprout inhales, the lids of her eyes pressed tightly to her eyeballs as she composes herself, "We are trying to find who is responsible, and be warned: we /will/ stop it."

This proclamation echoed across the walls, giving her words an effect of determination. Albus couldn't see why any of the students here would want to harm someone so harmless and sweet as Allison, it just didn't make sense.

Everyone else within the hall seemed to be thinking the same. In all this, there was absolutely one thing for sure: there was something odd going on at Hogwarts, and Al didn't think it would stop with Allison Moon.


	5. author's note (VERY IMPORTANT)

_**author's note**__**:**_

___so as some of you may have noticed, this story definitely is not set in the same next generation universe as cursed child, as i started writing and developing this in 2014. you may be wondering if i'll be continuing this and the answer is: yes. i will be continuing this, despite cursed child. i had the whole seven years planned out, i'm about to not publish it. _


	6. v Hagrid's Confession

**v. Hagrid's Confession**

* * *

The mystery behind Allison's 'attack' (as everyone had come to call it despite no further information being told) consumed the entire school like a plague. No one could walk the halls without hearing a whisper of it, people trying to come up with theories as to why. Albus knew it was best not to get involved, as getting involved in matters such as these caused his father great pain in his adult years as his trauma manifested. It was this, and Albus' already busy brain storage on figuring out what was going on with Hagrid.

However, Al's bewilderment didn't last long, as Rose and Cat squished themselves in between Jono and Albus (Scorpius thought it better if he stand) before Rose informed them that a letter from Hagrid had arrived for her late the night before. The brunette Weasley passed the tea-stained envelope to her black-haired cousin, and the latter of the two read the message written upon the parchment in an untidy scrawl:

_Rose, Albus and Cat—_ (Scorpius feigned offense at his lack of acknowledgement)  
_Please visit me tonight at eight o'clock. I know you shouldn't really be out at night but it's important: I need to tell you something._  
_\- Hagrid_

"Great," huffed Jono, "You say this guy's a teacher? And he's telling us to leave the castle in the night? How are we supposed to even do that without being caught? Geez, this guy better be worth it."

Rose shrugged at the first comment, with a knowing smile and a mischievous glint in her eye. "Being caught isn't a problem, is it Al?"  
"I dunno. I'll have to ask my brother."

Scorpius, completely dumbfounded by the conversation in such a way one might think that the pair were speaking in tongues, raises an eyebrow and shares a confused glance with Jono.

"Ask him now!" suggests Cat, nodding in the direction of the oldest Potter boy, whom is practically strutting into the Great Hall. Albus sighs, not eager to face his brother after their last encounter, but still rises from his seat, picking up his confidence.

Scorpius steals Al's unoccupied seat between Rose and Wren Aedian, leaving Albus no place to return if he decides to back out. "What are you talking about?"

"We'll explain later."

Albus strides up to his older brother, his confidence threatening to deflate with every step. James Potter was what one would consider handsome, with his boyish good looks and charm. His eyes were the same deep brown as their mother and grandmother before him, plus the trademark Weasley splattered freckles over a pale white canvas. His dark hair ruined the instant connection to the Weasley family, however, as did his extremely heavily dark eyebrows that Lily Luna frequently compared to caterpillars that had found refuge on his face.

"Jim," Al said once he was within speaking range, "Hagrid messaged me and my friends—he wants us to visit him..."  
"...Good for you," James replies impatiently.  
Albus wastes no time, "Except, he wants us to see him after hours. So, like, could I borrow—"  
"—You want to borrow Dad's cloak," James completes his younger brother's request for him. Al nods, leaving James to contemplate. Jim waits a moment, and then two, before double-checking, "You say this is because of Hagrid?"

Albus nods yet again.

"Then I'm coming with you," the eldest Potter decides.  
"What? No way. There is barely enough room for the people I'm bringing as it is," Albus protests, leading James to raise a slight brow.

"Fine," Jim crawls with false innocence, "but, little brother, you forget that I have the Marauder's Map—"  
"—Because you _s__tole _it from Dad. Anyone could do that."  
"_Tsk_," is all James replies, "semantics."

Albus huffs at his brother with upmost distaste at the prospect of bringing him along. However, deep in his heart, Albus knew there was no other way to visit Hagrid that night that didn't include Harry's cloak of invisibility.

"Fine," the word rolls at the back of his throat, the same way a scoff would escape. James smiles at his brother, "How kind of you. So, I'm assuming Cat will be coming, yes? She's in Gryffindor, she can come with me to each of your dormitories. Make sure your friends don't take all night to get under the cloak, because I will hold _you_ personally responsible."

Just like that, they were a party of six. Just like that Albus Potter was set up for the possibility of detention only a week into the school year.

The six of them walked impeccably slowly on their quest towards Hagrid's hut. Luckily for them, they had all timed it perfectly so that they could leave at seven, an hour before their half-giant friend would meet them.

They barely fit under the cloak; they all had to squish together in order to fit. Jono was rather uncomfortably pushed into James' arm, Cat was merely millimetres from treading on Albus' feet. It was a miracle that they even managed to move beneath the cloak at all.

James tapped lightly on the door, and it was only seconds later that Hagrid's bearded face appeared through the door's frame. He stepped back, seeming to realise that they were there, and they all walked within the miniature house.

Jim was the one to remove the cloak from around them, rendering them all visible once more. Hagrid's kind eyes lit up with surprise when he fell upon the sight before him; six students, two of which he didn't know all that well, had come to see him purely because he had hinted at something important.

"Oh, yer all came just fer me?" Hagrid tried to discreetly wipe grateful tears from pouring from his eyes. Rose practically materialised besides the groundskeeper, patting him on the arm.

"You said it was important, so we had to find a way," said Albus. This didn't help the tears threatening to pool from Hagrid's eyes.

"What is it you wanted to tell us?" Cat reminded them all of why it was that they were there. Hagrid attempted to regain his composure (though his composure wasn't much) and spoke with a sudden softness that never in Albus' life had he heard leave Rubeus Hagrid's lips. Clearly Rose, Cat and James were thinking the same thing, based on the undivided yet concerned attention now focused on their friend.

"I'm... ill," is how Hagrid begins to explain the situation. Jim Potter pales at this, and Rose doesn't seem much better. Scorpius, suspecting the meaning of these words, glances at each of the four—Rose, Albus, Cat and James—to make sure they were still breathing.

"I expected it, what with my old age and whatnot." Hagrid senses the arising protest from Cat and Rose, and silences them before they can speak, "I'm old! I knew it woul' come a time where I couldn't keep goin' no more—"  
"—you're not... _dying_, are you, Hagrid?" these are the first words Jono has spoken since their arrival. A phrase no one had ever wanted to take reign of the air, but yet it was a question everyone in the room had been dreading to ask.

Hagrid says nothing, but the effect is just the same as if he had confirmed what they had hoped would never be true. Rose hugs Hagrid around the middle, her unusually large height for the average eleven-year-old being dwarfed by Hagrid.

"Are you at least going to St. Mungo's?" Scorpius asks, knowing the gamekeeper's importance to his friends. Hagrid nods as Rose pulls away from the hug.

"Off away to St. Mungo's by this time nex' week. Yer don't need worry about me; I'll be fine." Albus can tell by the absence of Hagrid's usual twinkle in eyes that he doesn't believe his own words for a second.

The six of them were slouched over the Slytherin table the next evening with total disregard for the rules. It was James that was muttering something to the group, but he said it mostly to Albus. "Do you think Dad knows?"

"No," Albus says quickly, "If he knew, he'd have been down here a billion times by now to check up on him, you know how important Hagrid is to him."  
"—And to us," Rose nods her head solemnly, "he'd tell us if something was going on with Hagrid, he wouldn't keep us in the dark like that—"  
Cat interjects, "But Hagrid telling us something like these seems kind of... sudden, right? Like someone had suggested he tell us..."

"It doesn't matter," the Malfoy boy murmured, "The only thing you can do is wait out whatever it is he's got until professional healers have more information. It might not be fatal."  
Jim rose an eyebrow, something Scorpius had noticed was something many of the Weasley-Potter clan did. "The ferret's got a point."

Scorpius scoffed at the scorn, "What did you just call me?"  
"I'll tell you later." Rose muffled her snort at James' comment alluding to a frequently told story by both Harry and Ron alike.

Jono was awfully silent in all this, as the shorter boy always seemed to. Whether it was just lack of something to say, or that he felt detached from the five of them, Albus wasn't sure. "You're quiet, Jon."

The short boy shifted slightly with obvious discomfort. "It's just strange, that's all. Being so close to you family, I mean."  
"Your family's not close?" Cat assumes from this.  
Jono simply shrugs. He's always shrugging his shoulders, as if he'd rather not go into details. "You could say that."

Albus respects whatever internal decision his friend has decided to enclose from the group. He returns to face his brother, whom is looking awfully bored with the entire shenanigans that is first year.

"Anyway, back to Ferret's point," James shifts the topic away from the Zander boy with the return of the word 'ferret' as if it were Scorpius' name. Scorpius huffs at the words, but doesn't speak besides a faint muttering along the lines of how Jim's family are weasels.

"We don't know that whatever Hagrid's got could kill him, it could easily just be dragon pox."  
"Not that dragon pox isn't bad, but the worst it can do is take away fertility so..." Scorpius trails off, lamely.  
Cat scowls with a slight pout, "What's 'fertility'?"

Rose rolls her eyes, insensitive to Cat's insecurity about her less knowledgeable mind. "Google it."

"What's 'Google'?" inquires Scorpius, for even with his enhanced knowledge compared to most purebloods, he didn't know the most fundamental web page of all time.

"I'll tell you later," Rose repeats for the second time that evening, which Scorpius acknowledges. "You have a lot of things to tell me."  
She gives a closed mouth smile, the kind with a scrunched nose and thinned eyes, "Yeah, you might wanna write a list of all the things before I forget."

"All we can do is cross our fingers and hope for the best," Jim says, the only one whom of which had managed to stay on topic this whole time. All of them, with the exception of the now-absent Jon, nodded in agreement, though none of them liked the prospect of anything like this happening to Hagrid at all.


End file.
